It is known in the art to manufacture a motor vehicle starting from a commercially available vehicle and cutting off it rear section and replacing it with another rear section. This makes it possible to change the purpose or core-functionality of the vehicle. For example, a light truck may be converted into a multi-passenger vehicle (minibus). Obviously, a sturdy connection between the front section and the rear section has to be achieved, which is achieved in the prior art by welding the rear chassis beams to the front chassis.
After modification, the motor vehicle still has to meet various standards. With the new function, the motor vehicle may also need to satisfy more stringent standards, because passengers of the multi-passenger vehicle are usually not protected by seat belts and/or air bags. For example, in case of conversion to a multi-passenger vehicle, the occupants will have to be protected from side impact collisions, both with respect to damage and to rolling over.
A disadvantage of the known method is that the motor vehicle after modification is relatively heavy.